Modern vehicles are often equipped with sophisticated controllers that enable vehicle performance characteristics to be optimized for specific needs. An engine manufacturer may use different programming logic to vary the engine performance characteristics, including horsepower delivered, according to the needs of a specific customer or class of customers. For example, trucks sold for use in over the road trucking, operating for most of their service life on highways; require different performance characteristics than similar trucks operating for most of their service life on city streets in stop and go traffic. A fuel map refers to a set of programming instructions that can be input into an engine control unit (an ECU) to modify performance characteristics of an engine.
As used herein and in the claims that follow, the term fuel map refers to a specific program (i.e., a set of machine instructions) used by an engine control unit (an ECU) to determine how to respond to various sensor inputs (i.e., changes in driving conditions). The ECU generally responds to changing inputs by changing at least one of the following parameters: fuel flow rate, spark timing, and idle speed. Changing the fuel map (i.e., the instruction set used by the ECU) will change the performance characteristics of the engine. Manufacturers generally select a fuel map to provide satisfactory vehicle performance over a wide range of conditions.
As the cost of sensors, communications systems and navigational systems has dropped, operators of commercial and fleet vehicles now have the ability to collect a tremendous amount of data about the vehicles that they operate, including how the vehicles are being driven by the drivers operating such vehicles.
Unfortunately, simply collecting such data does not automatically translate into cost savings. It would be desirable to provide such fleet operators with additional tools in order to derive a benefit from the wealth of data that can be collected. Preferably, such tools can be used to provide feedback to drivers to enable the fleet operator to encourage driving habits leading to cost savings. Such a tool might thus be used to develop objective criteria that could be used to encourage and provide incentives to drivers to improve their performance in operating the vehicles in a fleet.